ship to hawaii

frequent online shoppers know that shipping to the islands can be a frustrating experience from jacked up shipping rates to pad a company's bottom line to the exclusion of one million potential customers by some mainland businesses who simply refuse to ship to hawaii. shopping local is, of course, the best way to go but that's not always possible so when you simply must hit the internet click over to ship to hawaii which just may become your favorite online buddy.

an annual membership fee (from $20 for the average jane & joe to $150 for a big business) combined with an additional shipping fee gets you access to the company's california warehouse which will receive your order, bundle it up with the goodies of other savvy kama'aina, and dispatches all the packages via air freight to hawaii twice a week (ocean freight is also available for heavier items).

patience is a must and, while door to door delivery is available to the neighbor islands, oahu residents will have to drop by the courier office near the airport to pick up their package.

an online shipping calculator lets you estimate the potential cost savings so if a business offers reasonable s/h this is not always the ideal way to go, however ship to hawaii does open up the tantalizing prospect of all those free shipping offers that are typically restricted to the 48 states.

learn what inspired this brilliant idea over at midweek and remember to read all the fine print before you sign up.

{via smart magazine}

p.s. outrageous shipping charges are not the exclusive domain of the mainland to hawaii route and has been known to afflict orders going in the opposite direction across the pacific (ex: a recent order cost $2 to ship from hi to ca but the company charged me $8 - yikes!) so here's a little unsolicited advice to hi biz owners - get a scale (it is a business expense, after all), sign up for click-n-ship postage, stock up on flat rate boxes from usps, and make a note that packages under 13 ounces can be sent via first class mail.

studies show that i am not the only one who has abandoned many a shopping cart after being presented with excessive s/h fees at checkout. in fact, you may be surprised to learn that 6 out of 10 shoppers ditch their cart prior to completing their purchase. the number one reason? high shipping rates.

Comments

[karen]

thank you so much for posting this!! I can't believe how much I spend on shipping things from the mainland to kauai... this is a great business!!

[leigh]

aloha karen! isn't this a fabulous idea? it really opens up a lot of possibilities for design fans, small businesses . . . the list goes on and on.

[Deb]

Thanks for posting this info. I have a favorite design store in Seattle that won't ship here anymore--they used to. Drives me crazy! I will look into this.BTW--Love your site!